Christmas on the Beach?

Merry Christmas to all!! We are now in Haifa, Israel spending the holidays with some of Christy's family, her sister and brother-in-law who live here and her mother visiting from Booker, Texas. We have a beautiful view of the Haifa harbor from the balcony of the home in which we're staying. It's not the Christmas setting to which we're accustomed. In fact, just a few days ago, we were walking along the beach of the Mediterranean Sea and the kids decided to kick around in the water a bit. That "bit" turned into full-fledged swimming when Megan "fell" in, thoroughly soaking herself. It was such a lovely, warm day that it really didn't matter.

It doesn't really make a difference what the setting is for Christmas, does it? That's not the most important thing. We were just visiting some Australian friends of ours and asked them what Christmas was like in the southern hemisphere. They are accustomed to celebrating with a cookout on the beach to stay cool during the hottest part of the summer. That's normal for them. So, if the setting isn't the most important thing, what is? It's the joy of the gift of Jesus Christ to the world, of course. That's what we're celebrating today, plain and simple. Praise the Savior of the world today!

Patrick